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Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy fired for inappropriate social media posts

Posted at 12:46 PM, Jun 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-02 12:46:59-04

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy who was under investigation for racist and offensive social media posts was fired Friday, according to Teri Barbera, spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Jason Van Dusen was suspended in 2014 for inappropriate social media posts following a complaint by Everett Stern, the director of a national investigative firm.

Stern sent another complaint to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw on February 1, saying he had, “never heard of a law enforcement officer post(ing) such an extreme level of racist remarks against African Americans, Muslims, Jews, and Women.”

According to the Palm Beach Post, Bradshaw recommended that Van Dusen be fired.

Van Dusen patrolled Royal Palm Beach.  His Facebook and Twitter accounts have been removed.

Stern's most recent complaint states that Van Dusen's posts were viewable by the public and that he didn't remove any of the posts on his account that came under scrutiny in 2014, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Van Dusen was suspended with pay on March 1 once an investigation began. He was with the Sheriff's Office since 1998.